AEM7 Disposition (and other motors - HHP8)

R36 Combine Coach wrote:

ThirdRail7 wrote:This is my beef with that wacky OIG report that said Amtrak ordered too many engines and they should have considered rebuilding the existing fleet. These units are old and hard run.

Even in 2007, NJT was toying around with giving an overhaul to the ALP44s. The AC AEM7s has one rebuild already and made some 15 years since.

NJT spends a ridiculous amount of money on equipment and ignores the infrastructure - and I am not talking about the trackage shared with Amtrak.

The CNJ mainline (Raritan Valley Line), M&E, AND North Jersey Coast Line should be NJT's show piece.

The CNJ mainline has speeds too low. This was a four track mainline showcase in its day. Now it's a two track milk run train. A third rail line should have been maintained so the line could have better express trains. And if speed and express trains were restored, this line should be running out to Philipsburg. There are still a lot of traffic on Route 78 that is Newark and NYC bound (buses cars and what not).

The North Jersey Coast Line is perhaps getting up to speed, but there improvements to express schedules and speed should be considered. This would help the south-end of the line have improved service. NJT killed "south of Long Branch" when electrification was extended to Long Branch. The dual modes could help the line. But the dual mode motors are expensive pieces of equipment that are largely under utilized. In my opinion, they make the most sense on the North Jersey Coast Line (at this time) to get that one-seat ride from Shore Communities to NYP. And with such a long route - stick the multilevels on these express trains.

NJT should be looking at Metro North and the LIRR to figure out how to operate express train service. For example, the south-end of the North Jersey Coast Line should have a super express with five or so train stations and then make a mad dash to Newark and NYP (one seat ride). Follow that up with perhaps a typical express train. But the south-end and even north of Long Branch needs an evaluation done on where speed can be increased, or larger capital improvement projects done to allow such.

The M&E service is a good showcase but capacity improvement is needed between Kearny (where the line joins the Amtrak NEC) and on into NYP. This should have been thought out and completed with "Midtown Direct" inauguration. It's only now - after the "build wasd done" that one looks past this and realizes Portal Bridge and the Hudson River Tunnels can't handle the crunch of trains.....and the desire to get all NJT trains into NYP is taxing this two track ROW. One train breaks down and it is a cascade effect of a nightmare.

Anyway, instead of dealing with even basic infrastructure issues, NJT is buying equipment or refurbing equipment, instead of looking at how they can improve intrastate rail travel (e.g. the MOM line), add some system redundancy for NEC service (e.g. the West Trenton CSX line to Raritan and on to Newark Penn Station etc.

And truth be told NJT should either be helping Amtrak lobby for money or offer it to fix 1930 and 1950 electrical infrastructure that is still in place between Newark and NYP specifically. NJT has a HUGE stake in getting those trains to NYP - or at least that's where they have concentrated efforts.

On a separate topic (r actually back on topic), I really would have hoped that the AEM7's (and perhaps HHP8's) would have been converted into cab cars as it seems that Amtrak does have a need for this. It would help to free up power or offer protection to the existing (former) Metroliner cab cars and de-motored F40s.

For what it is worth, I would be interested in hearing what led to the decision to "scrap" the AEM7 and HHP8 motors (the later I think may still be on lease so that's a little bit of a more complicated storyline) as opposed to converting them to cab cars as one report from Amtrak in the early stages when these ACS units were ordered. It was addressed in one of the reports that the AEM7's would be considered for cab car use.......so what happened in between or led to the current decision to just outright scap'em?

jp1822 wrote:For what it is worth, I would be interested in hearing what led to the decision to "scrap" the AEM7 and HHP8 motors (the later I think may still be on lease so that's a little bit of a more complicated storyline) as opposed to converting them to cab cars as one report from Amtrak in the early stages when these ACS units were ordered. It was addressed in one of the reports that the AEM7's would be considered for cab car use.......so what happened in between or led to the current decision to just outright scap'em?

The new bi-level order for the Midwest and California includes enough cab cars that more than half of the existing NPCU's go directly into storage, and they get purged from every single route except the Cascades and Downeaster. Why would they ever embark on a brand new cabbage conversion program for short-term plugs when storage at Beech Grove is the fate of their existing cabbage fleet in another 18-24 months? Or can quickie-order some Viewliner cabs whenever they want if they need to plug gaps within NEC clearances. Or, for that matter, why didn't they include cab cars in the Viewliner order if they were so desperate for bodies that they were seriously considering chopping up more locomotive hulks?

It's because they aren't so desperate anymore for cab cars. It's because they can order supplemental Viewliners if they need to. It's because the economics no longer favor chopping up locomotive hulks like they did 15 years ago, when there were no plausible alternatives. It's because the next-gen single-level order is going to put any new NEC-clearance cabbage conversions in the same storage line as the ex-F40's in 8-10 years if a supplemental V2 order doesn't do it sooner, and they won't even be around long enough to pay off their conversion cost.



Just because a carbody exists doesn't mean it has further use left in it. There will never be a new cabbage conversion on AMTK. That was a one-time only program dictated by the circumstances of its era.

MOD NOTE: AEM7-to-cab-cars was covered in a different topic, including the "no" reasons. Please PM if you have new news, otherwise enjoy your monday. Thanks!